Cholesterol, High Cholesterol

The Dean Ornish Program for reversing heart disease evaluated 3,780 patients: (27):

• The Ornish program teaches a plant-based, meatless diet, meditation, and regular exercise with adherence to the program between 85 to 90% after one year in hospitals and clinics that have offered it.
• The average patient lost 13.3 pounds in the first 12 weeks and 15.9 pounds after 1 year.
• Significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol after 12 weeks were still significant after 1 year.
• Exercise capacity increased by 18% after 12 weeks and 24% after one year.
• Reductions in depression were still significant after 1 year.
• Hemoglobin A1C in diabetics continued to decrease after one year.
• 5% of patients reported improvement in severity of angina (chest pain) after 1 year.

Insurance approval for the Ornish Program:

Medicare Part B covers The Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease, under a new benefit category, Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation (ICR). Eligibility includes acute myocardial infarction within the preceding 12 months, a coronary artery bypass surgery, current stable angina pectoris, heart valve repair or replacement, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or coronary stenting, a heart or heart-lung transplant, or other cardiac conditions as specified through a national coverage determination. (27)